Chapter 388: Targeted
Translator: Reverie_ Editor: Kurisu
ED/N: WATCH OUT: THIS IS CHAPTER 390, SO IF IT ENDS UP PUBLISHED RIGHT AFTER 387, KNOW THAT 388 AND 389 COME AFTER THIS ONE. Maybe we'll be able to fix it or it'll fix itself, but I'm leaving you folks a heads-up in case that doesn't happen.
The conditions in the stronghold were harsh; there weren't any good lodgings. It was simply a room made of bamboo, and not to mention the terrible soundproofing effects, there was even a crack where others could peep through.
Ling Han didn't really care, since it was only for two nights anyways.
After he left, the news of him being a "foolishly rich" person spread and everyone wanted to receive treasure ginsengs as reward, heading out to inquire one after another.
There wasn't much hope within this stronghold and everyone knew of Ling Han's bounty, so some went to the next stronghold to check out the situation. However, some people harbored killing intent as well, waiting for Ling Han to leave the stronghold so that they could kill him and seize his goods.
…He was only a youngster at the fifth layer of the Spiritual Ocean Tier, how strong could he be? He looked like a delicate flower grown inside a greenhouse, and his battle prowess was probably not even four stars.
At night, a medicinal harvesting team of twenty entered the stronghold; it was exactly the party with the red-clothed woman whom Ling Han came into conflict with.
They came to the northwestern corner of the stronghold. The harvesters crammed into one large bamboo room and the guards also crammed into one, but the red-clothed woman entered a single-person bamboo room, where a thirty year-old man already waited for her.
"Wan Qing!" The man heard knocking, and when he saw the red-clothed woman, he couldn't help but be pleasantly surprised. His eyes burned with desire as he pulled her into his embrace, unable to restrain from getting fresh.
"Naughty, haven't you touched enough? So impatient." The red-clothed woman, Ding Wan Qing swung her hips, teasing the other person.
The man was also surnamed Ding—Ding Gao Yang. He was from the same family as Ding Wan Qing. However, their bloodlines were extremely distant, far beyond five generations of ancestors, so they weren't forbidden from marriage. However, Ding Gao Yang already had a wife, so the two were obviously carrying on an affair.
The two ultimately didn't have their happy time. After all, the soundproofing was terrible, and Ding Wang Qing wasn't a chicken with no sense of shame.
"Brother Gao Yang, have you seen a youngster about seventeen or eighteen, half a head taller than me, with very white skin like a young master in the stronghold today?" Ding Wang Qing lay in Ding Gao Yang's embrace and began to ask about Ling Han.
She was slapped, which was something could absolutely not tolerate.
"Huh, how do you know him?" Ding Gao Yang naturally knew the bounty Ling Han issued in the day and immediately connected the two people together.
"He really is here?" Ding Wan Qing instantly revealed an ominous glint.
"Don't rush, tell me everything from start to end," Ding Gao Yang hurriedly said. He knew Ling Han possessed great wealth; as long as Ling Han stayed in the safety area, Ling Han could stir up great commotion.
Ding Wan Qing spoke about what happened in the day. She naturally put all the blame on Ling Han, saying how domineering he was without mentioning at all how cheap her mouth was.
After she finished talking, Ding Gao Yang couldn't help but snort and said, "What a daring brat, hitting my Little Sister Wan Qing!"
"Brother Gao Ynag, you have to do me justice!" Ding Wan Qing said in a sweet voice.
Ding Gao Yang nodded, and immediately went on, "This matter needs to be considered at length. This youngster knocked seven of your guards flying—such battle prowess is extremely terrifying, even I can only be ashamed of being inferior."
"Then what do we do, am I just going to take that slap for nothing?" Ding Wan Wing almost threw a tantrum.
Ding Gao Yang hugged her tightly and said, "Don't worry, I'll ask a Spiritual Pedestal Tier elite to attack—taking him down would be more than enough! Even if that fails, my brother is training out here. He placed sixty-sixth on the previous term's prodigy roll and is now at the ninth layer of the Spiritual Pedestal Tier. I'll immediately have someone contact him and have him come over."
"If Clan Brother Yuan Xin steps in, then there'll be absolutely no chance of failure!" Ding Wan Qing said. In reality, wasn't it for a great tree like Yuan Xin that she got in bed with Ding Gao Yang? This was the most remarkable clansman in the history of the Ding Family; he was now only thirty-seven years old but already at the ninth layer of the Spiritual Pedestal Tier.
Ding Gao Yang laughed coldly. Ling Han was probably a descendant of some alchemist family—that was why he had so many treasure ginsengs on him and reached the fifth layer of the Spiritual Ocean Tier at such a young age. However, this was the Dark Demon Forest—all backgrounds were useless here!
The things on this kid were all his!
***
Ling Han stayed for a night. On the second day, he continued to seek information on the Dark Demon Forest.
The reason why the Dark Demon Forest had such a name was firstly because the environment here was very gloomy, with dark hanging over for many years, and secondly because there was dark fog everywhere, making the entire forest appear gloomier.
That fog was like Demonic Qi, affecting the hearts of people and beasts; there were many cases of people going mad after spending too long in them.
And thus came the name of the Dark Demon Forest.
Demonic Qi enveloped the entire forest, but the further from the middle of the forest, the less dense the Demonic Qi was. The effects on living things were miniscule, but it still had its effects, making people and beasts more bellicose.
At the core area of the forest, the Demonic Qi was terrifying, easily turning a person into a lunatic. However, if one didn't have enough strength, one couldn't possibly enter the depths and would have long been torn to shreds by crazy yet strong beasts.
It could be said that the most scary thing in the Dark Demon Forest wasn't a martial artist or a beast, but the Demonic Qi.
Ling Han didn't fear it as he had the Black Tower. At that time, even Asura Demon Emperor's Demonic Qi could easily be cleansed—the Demonic Qi here should be far inferior. Anyways, with Black Tower at hand, he was very much at ease.
When it was noon, someone came to visit Ling Han. It was a thirty-year-old man who didn't announce his surname—Ling Han of course thought it was nothing out of the ordinary. The man told him of a location that extremely conformed with his requirements of the cold and the heat's intertwinement.
After Ling Han paid ten treasure ginsengs, he decided to set out.
He knew his wealth attracted the covetous eyes of many, but he didn't care; the strongest cultivator outside the stronghold was only at the first layer of the Spiritual Pedestal Tier. Now, the first layer of the Spiritual Pedestal Tier really wasn't much in Ling Han's eyes. He wouldn't even need to use his trump card to kill an expert at such a level.
Ling Han departed. Once he left, half of the people in entire stronghold seemed to have left too; their intentions could easily be guessed at if one wasn't stupid.
Why did Ling Han search for a place where the cold and heat intertwined?
Because Crimson Red Chilling Ice Grass only grew at such places, and this spirit grass had the two special qualities of cold and heat; the more severely cold and the more torridly hot it was nearby, the better the Crimson Red Chilling Ice Grass grew and the more mature it could become.
Hu Niu was bored from staying inside the Black Tower, so Ling Han found a remote place to let her out. Soon, an adult and a child holding hands were going for a stroll inside the forest, as if it weren't the extremely vicious and sinister Dark Demon Forest, but just a normal small forest.
However, this harmony was soon broken.
"Youngster, stop!" Five people suddenly appeared in front, each one revealing a ferocious look. S ha, sha, sha, five more people came out from behind, preventing Ling Han's retreat.
Ling Han was shocked, because amongst those who blocked his path in front was the brawny man who tricked him of one Origin Crystal, later had a bounty placed by him, and at last begged him for forgiveness. He couldn't help but laugh and said, "You really remain unrepentant to the end, is it uncomfortable to be alive?"